Visakhapatnam: The present commercial flight operations at the Visakhapatnam Airport, set within the Naval Airfield, will cease once the Bhogapuram International Airport becomes operational.
All civilian air traffic would shift to the new facility, with the airports’ economic regulatory authority approving an ad hoc tariff structure for GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd. This would take effect from the commercial operation date and remain in place until regular aeronautical tariffs are determined.
The tariff order specifies charges for both passengers and airlines. Domestic passengers departing from Bhogapuram will pay a user development fee of `835, while arriving passengers will be charged `355.
International passengers would pay `1,255 for departure and `545 for arrival.
In a statement here, AERA said Bhogapuram being developed as a greenfield project will initially handle six million passengers annually and serve as the primary aviation hub for north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Airlines will also face structured charges for using airport infrastructure. Domestic carriers will pay `1,400 per metric tonne of an aircraft’s maximum take-off weight as landing fees, while international airlines will pay `1,975 per MT.
To encourage expansion, AERA has introduced a variable landing charges scheme. Airlines adding new services on existing routes will pay 80 per cent of the standard landing fee, while those launching new routes will pay 60 per cent.
Domestic flights landing between 11pm and 6am will be charged only 25 per cent of the normal fee, and freighter aircraft will be exempt.
Parking will be free for the first two hours, after which charges of `19 per MT per hour will apply, increasing to `23 per MT per hour for longer durations. Additional charges will be collected for passenger processing systems such as Common Use Terminal Equipment, Common Use Self-Service and Baggage Reconciliation Systems, fixed at `75 per departing domestic passenger and $1.25 per departing international passenger.
Certain categories of passengers, including children under 2 years of age, diplomatic passport holders, airline crew on duty, and eligible transit passengers, will be exempt from the UDF. Flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) will continue to enjoy exemptions as per existing regulations.
The authority clarified that these ad hoc tariffs are designed to provide a regulatory framework during the interim period before the determination of regular tariffs for the first control cycle.
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